History & Museums

Powell High School joined with local veterans to build a memorial honoring Powell's war veterans for years to come. Photos and biographies of 32 local veterans are featured.

The Irma Hotel has been a town institution since it first welcomed guests on November 1, 1902. Colonel William F. Cody named this Victorian-style hotel for his daughter, Irma, and today, you'll find it on the National Register of Historic Places. Throughout the years, The Irma has played host to royalty, political leaders, celebrities, and business magnates alike. Here, you can stay in beautifully renovated rooms that have housed some of the most famous personalities the world has ever known — or even spend the night in Buffalo Bill’s private suite. If you're feeling hungry, make your way to the dining room, where there are plenty of delicious meals on the menu. This is also where you can catch a glimpse of the hotel's priceless cherry wood bar — a gift from Queen Victoria to Buffalo Bill.

Presenting over 50 years of homesteading, community development and family stories that make the Big Horn Basin a prime example of the U.S. Reclamation Act's role in settling the West.

Over 40 years ago Lee Smith began building a multi-story log house in wildlife-rich Wapiti Valley by hand, a process that lasted until he fell to his death from the roof in 1992 at the age of 48. We locals have many names for that lonely, decrepit house – the Smith Mansion and Pagoda House are the kindest references. Some people just call it the Crazy House. Anyone who drives through Wapiti Valley has seen this structure perched on a hill on the south side of the Buffalo Bill Cody Scenic Byway. It’s rambling five stories are accented – seemingly randomly — with protruding staircases, precarious balconies and shattered windows. Even though it never had electricity, it was the home where Smith lived with his wife and two children. In the early 1992 Smith stepped up work on the structure, creating additional meandering rooms that featured architectural accents like elk antlers and random containers made from metal scraps. His projects often took him to the roof and upper floors where he worked without safety tethers. On a windy April day in 1992, he fell and died.

The museums feature the western photography of Charles Belden and exhibits on the endangered black-footed farrets, the grizzlies "Little Wahb" and "Big Joe," information about the Ghost Town of Kirwin and artifacts from Meeteetse's past.

Shoot the guns that won the west! From flintlock to full-auto. Instructor led experience covering history, safety and live fire. Over 50 firearms. Indoor range, kids arcade and wildlife exhibit. Indoor axe throwing.

Discounts for military and seniors.

Open daily during the summer 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.

October to April – Tuesday through Saturday 11 a.m to 7 p.m., Sunday 12 p.m. – 5 p.m.

By Western Hands is an artisan gallery and exhibit hall. The mission is to educate, conserve and perpetuate Western functional art and design.

Come enjoy our hospitality and meet Meeteetse, Wyoming! Where outlaws rode and cattle barons ruled the land. Where wooden boardwalks, hitching rails and water troughs still line the streets. Where the rugged Absaroka Mountains meet the Wyoming Bad Lands. Wyoming’s best kept secret! Some of the best fishing, hunting, sight seeing and wildlife viewing available anywhere! Make Meeteetse your base camp for your adventure in the West! We are only 80 miles to the east entrance to Yellowstone National Park.

Meeteetse can be the restful base camp for your stay in Wyoming. And remember, watch for wildlife, especially deer as you travel in the Meeteetse area.